Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Thinking Outside the Box: Bathroom Vanity

Remember my bathroom re-do from Turn Your Gold into... a New Bathroom? Yes, it was pretty much a brilliant idea, and it was one of my first posts, so if you missed it [and most likely you did] you should read it now. [Seriously. Go ahead and click on the link, I'll wait...] Nothing like a pushy blogger lady, huh?! Did you read it? Good. Let's move on now ;)

Alright, first I want to comment on my color choice. Orange is a bold choice, especially for such a small room- but I really, really love it! Now, with that said, [here's a moment of full design disclosure] you must know that at first I painted the entire room orange, and... it. was. bad. Like, "yikes" bad. Like, "why is my powder room radiating orange into the hallway?" bad. Like, I had to repaint it that very night, bad. However, I loved the color, so I toned it down by using it as an accent wall and painting the remaining walls a color [that I love for pretty-much anywhere] called French Grey Linen. Ahhh, Perfect. I could breath once again!

Now, onto the main design element in my tiny little powder room... the DIY bathroom vanity. Actually, it isn't a vanity at all, it is the bottom half of a TV armoire. I found it at Goodwill [it was actually brand new from Target, but was sent to GW because of a missing hinge]. I took its top off [that was the piece with the missing hinge anyway] and was left with the perfect size dresser for a vanity!
Next, I found a great vessel sink from a company on Ebay. There are a TON of options for new vessels sinks and they are all about one-third of the cost of the vessel sinks at Home Improvement stores, so I highly recommend purchasing a sink from Ebay. This one was around $80 and I LOVE it.
Next, I purchased a faucet from Ebay too… aaaand, that’s where my luck ended. It was also about half the price of faucets from the H.I. stores... which was because it is ridiculously cheaply made. So. I recommend that you just spend the $ and purchase a good faucet or it will leak [like mine] and look bad [like mine] and you’ll have to replace it [like I need to].
Once you know your sink and faucet size, measure it out and cut the holes for the faucet and drain into the top of the dresser [there's a special circle attachment thing-y that attaches onto a drill. Just to your local H.I. store and use that exact term "circle attachment thing-y," they'll hook you right up!]
Then purchase tile for your top. I found recycled glass tile from The Home Depot. It came in 12”x12” sheets which made it easy to install (no need for a tile saw). Here is a link to the tutorial that I used at eHow for a list of supplies you'll need.
This is how I ended up doing it: First, cut and arrange the 12”x12” squares as you want them to look on your vanity top. It’s easy to cut the mess backing- just use normal scissors. Also, cut the tiles away from your drain and faucet holes- you don’t have to be perfect because the sink and faucet should cover the area anyway, but get your tiles as close as possible. Next, apply the mastic onto the table and lay your tiles onto it. Wipe away any excess mastic that squishes out! Now you have to mix the grout- add water until it looks like peanut butter [the creamy kind, not crunchy!]. Use your rubber float [yes, that's it's real name... I wouldn't make that up!] to get the grout smashed into each groove, then use your wet sponge to wipe any excess away and get it smooth. Be extra diligent on your edges- make it pretty!

[Now, if you need a more thorough explanation than this, just go to your local hardware store and stand in the tile & grout isle looking adorably helpless… you’ll have someone walking you through this and handing you the necessary items in no time!]
Alright, now the pretty stuff is over and it’s time to get technical [so this is when I call to my super hero hubby and he earns his title]. He carved-out the drawers to accomodate the plumbing [terrible picture, sorry... and yes, it's a bit chipped, but no one looks in your bathroom vanity drawer anyway. Just don't post it on the internet [like me] and no one will know!]. And then hooked-up the plumbing stuff. Honestly, I have no idea how, but he claims it wasn't hard. Sooo, here's an eHow tutorial for the sink, and here's one for the plumbing... or, you can go back to your H.I. store and stand in the plumbing isle this time looking adorably helpless... or, if you are really lucky your super hero hubby will swoop in like the plumbing-fairy and figure it out on his own [and you won't have a clue how it happened].

And that's how it happened for me... from an entertainment center to a bathroom vanity in just a few [hundred!] easy steps! Do you have any furniture that's just begging to become a vanity?!

This bathroom is AWESOME! i love the bold orange. I'm really tempted to paint my dining room (upper half above chair rail) a burnt orange, but I'm afraid that I'll have the same reaction as you. What do you think?

I LOOOVE this! It looks beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing the details, you make it seem fairly easy! I feel like I could do it...now I just have to keep my eyes open for the right armoire or little dresser.

Well hi there Connie! I'm about to tackle this project soon but just have to find a new entertainment center (my dining room hutch is now the entertainment center but it's going into the bathroom!) If you are still with me - I just love how you did yours. I'm going to link this on my blog under "links I love" too I can keep it, thanks!